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Shalzed Safavi
"I just want to do my job and be a hero. I don't want to mess around with this morally grey area. If it lets me sleep peacefully at night, a little ignorance is a small price to pay." Shalzed to Rusio when Shalzed refuses to hear the truth of the Void Century. Shalzed Safavi is the birth name of the Prince of Niar, who was exiled from his country by his father. He is the user of the Susio Susio no Mi, though until the battle at Marineford, he simply thought it was the Mizu Mizu no Mi. When he joined the Marines he took the alias Baku Shidori, and kept his true identity a secret. He is a major antagaonist in TSTAR which can be read here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12130671/1/Thousand-Sunny-s-Tactician-Another-Robin Edit: More will be added soon, this is currently incomplete. Apperance Owing to his Niar heritage, Shalzed has very tan skin and light hair, which gets it's blue hue from his mother, Eta. He is well built, thanks to Sengoku's training, and is a head taller than his contemporaries. He wears his Marine uniform at all times (with battle being the sole exception), though he wears it casually, even to the point that it appears he's disrespecting the World Government. Despite this, he takes pride in his accomplishments and polishes his medals and badges and displays them prominently. Below his overcoat he wears plain light black suit which he often swaps out for more casual clothing. His blue hair curls upwards naturally, much to his men's amusement. Relationships Family Shahriar Safavi Shalzed's father and the current King of Niar. Shalzed believed his father to be a great hero and idolized him back in his youth. Later upon learning about Shariar's traitorous and selfish nature as well as how he killed his own brother, Konain (Shalzed's Uncle) as well as V (the previous Prince and Konain's best friend), to take the throne for his own, he came to resent his father and all he learned from him, though much of his personality that sprouted from his father is still embedded in him. Shalzed was banished by his father when he was only 12 years old for eating the Devil Fruit Shahriar had had smuggled into the country for himself. Shahriar would later find a new Devil Fruit, and the two would clash when the Marines were called to track down a serial killer, and Shalzed is unable to stay quiet as his people are mistreated. Jamshed Jamshed is Shalzed's older half-brother and the twin who Shahriar didn't kill, (Barmak being the one who didn't avoid his wrath). When Barmak raise his concerns with his father's merciless and tyrannical rule, Shahriar killed him when he resorted to violence to try and change his mind. Shalzed originally viewed Jamshed as wise and kind, because of all the time he spent with him, but he later learned he was just trying to keep him out of their father's way. Later, Shalzed begins to see how much of a coward Jamshed was to let his twin die without trying to save him. When Shalzed returns years later as a Marine, he observes that Jamshed is still too spineless to stand up to their father. Jamshed says nothing and accepts his brother's stinging remarks. Jamshed's mother is Asiya, whom Shahriar killed. Bartholomew Kuma Kuma is Shalzed's half-brother. After Shahriar killed Konain, he took V's wife, Eta, as his own, and through their consummation, Shalzed was born. Eta and V, who had prepared for his death, had arranged for their son to be sent to the Revolutionaries, who were at the time, a small organization (they would grow when Dragon would later join and lead the group). Shalzed learned about Kuma's relation to him when he heard the Shichibukai had been asking about him. Discovering they were half-siblings, Shalzed approached him, but neither had much to say. They both try not to live in the past so they limit their conversations, but respect the other's strength and drive. Kuma is one of the few Marines who know and refer to him by his real name, Sengoku and Rusio being the only others. When Kuma was fully modified, he asked Vegapunk to deliver a final request to his half-brother, which was delivered through Rusio, Vegapunk's assistant and Shalzed's apprentice (though through Vegapunk's influence, Rusio became an Admiral during the timeskip, so he now outranks him). Kuma asks Shalzed to one day lead the Revolutionary Army in freeing Niar, which he eventually does on his own (though his underlings and the Straw Hats do assist). Sengoku After being set adrift by his father, Shalzed wandered onto an island that was under strict control by a gang of local pirates. After accidentally upsetting one of the pirates, they were set to kill Shalzed, but a timely attack by Sengoku and his crew allowed Shalzed to live. Seeing Sengoku as the hero he had believed his father to be, Shalzed joined the Marines under Sengoku's tutelage, somewhat similar to Garp's training of Coby and Helmeppo. Shalzed refers to Sengoku as father (though only in private) and takes great pride in Sengoku's compliments (which he spoils him with). While Sengoku never officially adopted him, is asked, Shalzed will claim as such. He created the alias Baku Shidori after meeting Sengoku because he "wanted it to sound cool". After witnessing the Buster Call on Ohara, Shalzed asks never to be promoted past captain because he believed it would force him to become like his superior, Akainu, who saw the destruction as justice. He claims that he is most happy when he is most free to pursue criminals and pirates in a "morally clear" area. Sengoku respects Shalzed for finding his own brand of justice, but chastises him for missing meetings and blowing off direct orders on many occasions. Sengoku occasionally threatens him, but they both know he doesn't mean it. Shalzed does take it as a sign to mellow out his current mood and usually gives in anyways. Before the Ohara Buster Call, Sengoku had hoped he would take over the Marines as Fleet Admiral, and had, as such, placed him under Akainu, who many believed would succeed Sengoku. Vivi Neferatari While not actually biologically related, Vivi is a descendant of the Celestial Dragons, and similarly, V, the ex-husband of Shalzed's mother, Eta, is also a descendant of the Celestial Dragons. When V married Eta she became an official Celestial Dragon, and thus, Shahriar became a Celestial Dragon, and through their marriage, Shalzed is technically a Celestial Dragon. Vivi's father, Cobra, knew V and Konain after they took back their country from Prau Shain and was inspired by V, to whom he named his daughter after, hoping she would take after V's sense of justice and courage. When the World Government sent Shalzed and the other Nightmares to deal with the serial killer plaguing Niar (Sengoku pulled some strings to make sure Shalzed was sent), they stopped at Alabasta, the neighboring kingdom, to gather info and supplies. When there, Shalzed meet with Cobra and later Vivi. Vivi had previously contacted the Straw Hats to address the issue and so behaved suspiciously. Shalzed took the initiative and with his Haki looked into her past. Seeing her fight for her country so boldly, he stopped, feeling it would disrespectful to pry further, but swore to do the same. Leaving he told her that the two of them were a lot alike. Allies Akainu/Sazuki Twenty-four years before the start of One Piece, Shalzed is promoted to Captain and assigned to work under Akainu, who is a Vice Admiral at the time. The older Marines passion for justice rubbed off on Shalzed and for a while, he blindly followed his superior. However, upon seeing the destruction of Ohara, and how Akainu viewed it as justice, he attacked his superior. Akainu easily fended him off, but the two have been on shaky ground (at best) since then. Before the incident however, the two were considered to be one of the strongest pairs in the Marines, even going as far as to be labeled "Symbols of Justice" by the media and the Gorosei. When Akainu became Fleet Admiral, Shalzed cheered for Rusio to replace him, because Rusio had managed to become a Admiral, whereas he was only a Vice-Admiral. Rosinante Donquixote Shalzed considered Rosinante to be a brother, having also been taken in by Sengoku, and being disowned by his noble family. When Shalzed was taken in by Sengoku, the two trained together and bonded for two years before Rosinante was sent to infiltrate Doglamingo's crew. During this time, Rosinante, despite being younger, acted like an older brother to Shalzed, and would get him to pull pranks on Sengoku and occasionally Kong and the Gorosei. When things went awry, Rosinante would always take the blame squarely on his shoulders. He also stood up for Shalzed when he was picked on by older marines. Four years after Rosinante infiltrated Doflamingo's crew, word of Rosinante's death reached Shalzed, he became infuriated, mourning alongside Sengoku. This sparked his lifelong hatred of Doflamingo. Smoker Smoker is one of the few people that Shalzed hates unconditionally, both as an act and legitimately. Ever since Shalzed was sent to retrieve Smoker at a meeting, (the idea being you would send a problem child to deal with another problem child) where he accidentally interrupted Smoker's rock balancing, (which just escalated from there) the two have had a great deal of animosity towards each other. Ironically, Smoker was simply balancing rocks as a simple way to pass the time, and his continued obsession with the balancing act is simply because Shalzed spited him. The two settled their differences with each other in an offical duel, which Smoker quickly won with his seastone jitte. The two have fought many more times, each with Smoker pulling out a similar victory, much to Shalzed's anger. Shalzed will, of course, have an excuse for his loss, though he knows no one believes him. Part of him doesn't care. Even though the two are very similar, they refuse to acknowledge it and take great pleasure in insulting the other (though Smoker is better at that too). Despite this, they have been forced to work together on multiple occasions due to their similarities, becoming the first Marines the Gorosei kept an eye on for their potential, with Rusio, Momi, and Faustus later joining, and the group being dubbed the Five Nightmares, due to their potential to become strong enough to one day strike fear into the heart's of every pirate in the world, and due to the possibility they'd become a "nightmare" to deal with due to their problematic nature. Five Nightmares Along with Smoker, Momi, Faustus, and Rusio, Shalzed is one of the five Marines that comprise the Five Nightmares (after Momi's death, Tashigi would take her place). Given the name by the Gorosei, they have been called "The Second Strongest Force in the World Government", in reference to the Admiral's title as the "Greatest Military Power", though many call the Nightmares as being a close second (though much of this is due to their potential rather than actual skill). Shalzed doesn't seem to mind the title particularly, though he does dread working with Smoker. He spends most of his time with Rusio, Momi, and Faustus already, so the title is little more than a formality. He does use the epithet on occasion to over-exaggerate his power for interrogation and information gathering purposes, but he does so with a dramatic flair that suggests he doesn't take the title seriously. Shalzed's relationship with Faustus is most affected by the grouping. Before being placed in the same classification, Shalzed viewed Faustus as weak and unworthy of marrying Momi. These feelings subsided later, though this was partially due to Faustus' luck power. Shalzed is tasked with keeping Momi and Faustus focused when around each other, because their minds tend to wander. Shalzed describes them like as being like newlyweds every time they see each other. Despite this, he grew closer to Faustus when Momi died and the two began to work together as a new unit, seeing as how Momi was dead and Rusio had deserted. The title of Five Nightmares was dropped and Faustus assumed control of the Rusio's ship Logana and her crew. Rusio Esposito/Biba Murasakino Rusio was a farmhand on Ruby Island and a child prodigy. By age eight he essentially ran his family farm. When Shalzed (or rather Baku) was pursuing Nico Robin (on the orders of Sengoku, in return for letting him stay a Captain), Robin took refuge on his farm, working for food and a place to stay. Robin and Rusio became close, both being prodigies and close in age. When Shalzed tracked her down, she fled and Shalzed began interrogating Rusio and his family. With the trail having gone cold. Shalzed was looking as though he would get violent. Rusio upon discovering Robin was a criminal, felt betrayed and offered to help Shalzed find her, and in return he would leave his family alone. Seeing Rusio's prodigy, he accepted the offer and they attempted to track down Nico Robin, with Rusio along as a "chore-boy". Rusio was only twelve at the time. One night when Shalzed was drunk he told Rusio everything, about Nico Robin's poneglyph reading, as well as his own past. Upon hearing the truth, Rusio instates in the Marines for real in order to clear her off her bounty, by becoming an Admiral and making her a Shichibukai. In order to buy time, Rusio blackmail's Sengoku into getting Shalzed to pursue various petty Devil Fruit using criminals, under the guise that his Devil Fruit is perfect for capturing Devil Fruit users (which it is). Rusio's genius lands him a role as Vegapunk's assistant after Robin enters Baroque Works, and because of her connections with Crocodile, a Shichibukai, she is temporarily left alone. When Vegapunk warns Rusio that the Shichibukai system may collapse soon, Rusio rejoins the Marines as a field officer, with Vegapunk helping him climb quickly through the ranks, becoming a Commander. Rusio rejoins Shalzed as somewhat of a partner, with the two controlling different ships. Rusio's ship, the Logana, and the crew, act as a child unit to Shalzed and his ship, The Floating Prison. Shalzed knows Rusio wants to find Nico Robin, but is unaware of his true intentions. When Rusio learned of the truth of the Void Century, he offered to tell Shalzed, but Shalzed refused, claiming he just wanted to do his job believing he was doing the right thing, and that if it let him sleep soundly, a little ignorance was a small price to pay. When Rusio defected from the Marines to join the Straw Hat crew, Shalzed openly belittled him, but wept in private. Later, when Rusio acted as a decoy to let the Straw Hats escape, Shalzed tries to fight, but is unable. He simply tells him that Rusio can't believe he would betray him and the Marines. Momi Alyy Seldeka Kornel Momi is a Marine Lieutenant Commander under Shalzed and his right hand woman. Momi specifically requested to work with Shalzed because Shalzed was one of the Marines directly responsible for the pursuit of Mary Killigrew, the pirate who was responsible for the death of Momi's parents Clint and Lyr Kornel. Momi was originally a Celestial Dragon before she swore to get revenge on Mary and abanonded her home at Sabaody. As such, Shalzed sympathizes with her because he also lost his birthright. Because of this he is very overly protective of her, (though he'd never admit it) and tries to push her to become stronger. She is one of the few people that don't know his secret identity that can get him to listen to reason. He values her intelligence and her calm demeanor, though on some occasions he can get annoyed by this. Despite this, he still can be rude to her and look down on her (though some of this is an act), especially when she gets publicly coquettish with her husband, Faustus (who is the Lieutenant Commander under Rusio). The two of them respect each other's fighting styles, Shalzed being a bit jealous of Momi's ability to swim, though all of their attempts to do fusion attacks have failed. Shalzed grieved Momi's death after the battle with the Psudeo One Piece along with Faustus and the two resolved to kill the Straw Hat Crew, saying they'd be willing to abandon the Marines if they needed to. Enemies Monkey D. Luffy Shalzed encountered Luffy and the Thousand Sunny by chance soon after Luffy departed from Water Seven, and easily overpowered him, though he was forced to retreat when Robin intervened. Since then he has been obsessed with hunting Luffy down, often clashing with Smoker in order to catch him. Unlike Smoker however, Shalzed has no respect for the pirate, seeing him as just another pirate with delusions of grandeur. Having lost his own royalty, he seems to take personal offense to people trying to become the Pirate King. Unlike Marco and Mary, Shalzed views his failure to capture Luffy as a fluke and even being unworthy of his attention, though he still pursues him relentlessly. The two clash on multiple occasions, though Luffy usually has to team up with another crew member to hold him off or escape. Crocodile Shalzed was originally a friend of the Shichibukai, buying into Crocodile's lies about wanting to improve Alabasta and keep it safe. This was similar to how he originally viewed his father, though ironically the results were the same. His sentiments were shared by Rusio, who knew Robin would be kept safe through Crocodile's influence as a Shichibukai. Shalzed viewed Crocodile as wise and mannerly, which is how he viewed himself (despite that being not the case), and pursued a friendship with him. Crocodile used their connection to monitor the Marines knowledge of Baroque Works and avert suspicion. When Luffy defeated Crocodile (though he was only told Smoker defeated him, which Smoker would only later correct) and his true intentions revealed, he once again felt betrayed and became more cynical than before. At the battle of Marineford, Shalzed launched an attack at Crocodile. and quickly succeeded in defeating the pirate, angrily asking if he had come to betray him again. Before he could do anything else, Shalzed had to fend off other attackers. Brook When letting himself get captured to be put in Niar prison, thus allowing him to sneak into the palace, Shalzed meet Brook, who had been captured and arrested on the charge of being too creepy. Having hidden his violin, Brook began playing and singing and Shalzed joined in. Unable to see each other through the cells, the two laugh and talk together. Despite this, he hates Brook the pirate simply for being a pirate and claims he is a freak of nature (something Rusio, a fellow revived human, takes offense to). Despite all of this, neither of them managed to recognize the other's voice later on and remain ignorant. Mary Killigrew A female (this was hotly debated though Shalzed assured she was in fact female) pirate that terrorized the seas from sixteen years prior to two years prior to the start of Luffy's journey. Despite not having a Devil Fruit, her immense haki and magic powers made her a deadly foe. Mary was considered a threat to the World Government after she killed two Celestial Dragons, Momi's parents, (though this wasn't intentional) Lyr and Clint Kornel. At the time of Lyr and Clint were killed, Akainu was dispatched to handle Mary. However she was able to match his strength and escape with her crew, which Akainu remarked were only slowing her down. Realizing he couldn't take her alone, he reluctantly requested Shalzed's assistance once more to track her down. While Shalzed wasn't happy to do so, he obliged. From then on, he viewed Mary's capture as his ultimate goal. The two Marines managed to launch a sneak attack on Mary and her crew in the New World, forcing them to return to Paradise, where they stayed on Amazon Lily for a year. When she returned, the Marines continued to pursue her. The two fought often, though she always escaped. Despite his disdain for the female pirate and her murder, Shalzed came to respect Mary, especially after hearing how she fought evenly with Whitebeard (though this was exaggerated quite a bit). Due to their constant failures to capture her, Mary's bounty was raised to 800,000,000 berries. Two years before the start of One Piece, Mary was killed by Caeser Clown and his poison, after failing to finish her off with his bomb, the same bomb that lead to the creation of Punk Hazard as it's known today. Shalzed was unable to accept that he didn't capture Mary, and his obsession with Marco is simply his way to try and fulfill his goal through the Phoneix. Marco Marco is the only Devil Fruit wielding pirate that Shalzed has been unable to capture despite his pursuits (he doesn't count Luffy because Luffy had assistance). He shows genuine friendliness with Marco when they talk about what family means and their desire to protect it, though the moment of levity was short lived. Shalzed is shown to have great respect for Marco, scolding Usopp for naming such a weak attack a firebird, saying "You call that a firebird? Please. I've fought a pirate that embodied that name." Doflamingo When Doflamingo killed his brother Rosinante, Shalzed, who was very close with Rosinante, swore vengeance. However it wasn't until three years later, when Doflamingo becomes a Shichibukai, that Shalzed gets a shot at his revenge, launching a ferocious attack at the pirate, though he beaten down easily. Doflamingo would even go on to taunt Shalzed about how he killed Rosinante, and Shalzed had to be held back by Smoker, which only made Shalzed hate Smoker more. Shalzed was publicly punished by Sengoku, though it was more show than anything. This was however used as the reason for Shalzed's lack of promotion past Captain, despite having been a Captain for over twelve years at this point. He would stay a Captain for eight more years, until he would be promoted after Marineford in an attempt to change the Marines, fearing Akainu would drive them to be tyrannical and destructive like his father. Personality Shalzed Safavi (Young) When Shalzed was a child back in Niar, he was naive and idealistic, believing his father to be a paragon of justice, and an overall attitude of optimism. His father would often speak about the strength needed to succeed, which Shalzed would inherit as a life philosophy. His greatest desire was to be a hero and a protector of good, like what he believed his father to be. His desire to be a hero was motivated primarily by a desire to be acknowledged by his father. In Shalzed's eyes, he simply wasn't worthy yet, but in reality his father cared little for his son. Shalzed knew a large portion of the city of Niar back when he was young (it was a fairly small city), and was well liked by most of the citizens, more genuinely than he lets himself believe nowadays. He had a vivacious and contagious energy that lead him to have many friends of his own age, though many of them were unable to keep up with him. Shalzed Safavi (Current) After being betrayed by both his father and Akainu, Shalzed comes to be very solemn, even cynical about the world and as such tends to avoid complications, such as learning the truth about the Void Century and the ideologies of those that have different ideas from him such as Akainu and Rusio. This leads him to be quite narrow minded and stubborn, arguing with Sengoku about keeping him out of the main conflict at Marineford. He gets drunk frequently, though he usually does so alone. There are a few times he has failed to capture pirates, Marco and Mary Killigrew being his most regretfully, and those failures haunt him. Despite this, he has a great deal of respect for those he has been unable to capture, angrily scolding Usopp for calling his pathetic attack a Firebird Star, saying, "You call that a firebird? Please. I've fought a pirate that embodied that name." While Shalzed views himself as being a fairly good person, he is distrusting of strangers by nature, though he usually tries to rationalize it. This feeling usually goes away after spending enough time with the person in question. Baku Shidori Baku Shidori is as much a different person as he is a fake name. When assuming the identity of Baku, Shalzed puts on an overly theatrical, shrill voice, and moves with an exaggerated manner. This is of course, all a farce, as his true personality is much more subdued, though there are many crossovers, including his respect for foes who have eluded him, his desire to do meaningful things, and a strong desire to protect his crew. As a tribute to Sengoku, Shalzed will spout off lines in Japanese, which isn't his birth language, or the language his crew uses, which is Ocean Standard. He is often mistakenly called baka, much to his anger. Ironic because it's his favorite insult. Rusio describes him as being a chaser, because he pursues pirates even to the point that he neglects his other duties. History Childhood Shalzed Safavi was born 41 years prior to the start of One Piece, in the city of Niar, to the parents Eta Levir Kuma Safavi and Shariar Safavi. Eta died in childbirth. From a young age Shalzed wanted to be a hero, and as such trained on the outskirts of town with other friends, though to most of them it was just a game. His father would often speak of his need for power in order to protect the country. His father would often go on and on about acquiring a Devil Fruit, and taught Shalzed about them and their curses. As such, Shalzed believed if he ever wanted to be a hero he'd need to be strong. For most of his younger years, Shalzed was content with little chores and kindly acts like carrying things for the elderly or picking things up for someone who dropped things. However when he was the age of twelve he began seeking out ways to be a true hero, like his father whom he idolized. By sheer luck he stumbled onto a drug smuggling ring. However before he could alert anyone, he was captured and tied up inside a warehouse. The criminals left to finalize the deal and Shalzed managed to slip out of the ropes. He tried to sneak away but alerted the attention of the drug dealers. Panicking, he spotted a strange blue fruit with stars on it, which he recognized as a Devil Fruit. Eating it, he defeated the drug dealers and brought them before his father triumphantly. However the criminals had actually been working for the king the entire time, and they had stolen the Devil Fruit for King Shahriar to eat himself. Enraged at the loss of his chance to take the power for himself, he banishes Shalzed. For two years, Shalzed roams the land, taking handouts and hunting wild animals. Eventually he stumbles upon a town with strong pirates controlling it from the shadows. When trying to buy a room, he gets approached by the pirates who demand payment. Shalzed refuses and the pirates grab him and begin to haul him off. Confused as to how the pirates could grab his body and why he couldn't turn intangible, Shalzed began to panic. Fortunately, before he could be hurt, Sengoku and his crew raided the town and Shalzed was set free. At that point he joined the Marines in order to save others like Sengoku had saved him. Life as a Marine The training under Sengoku was rough, but with the aid of his new friend, Rosinante, the two quickly excelled at their studies and physical training. The two bonded by pulling pranks on Sengoku and going on adventures. During that time, Shalzed officially debuted as a Marine, though through Sengoku pulling some strings, he continued to train under him. Rosinante on the other hand, began to train to become a spy for the World Government (though he wouldn't do any actual spying for several years). After three years, a young man at this time, Shalzed is a Captain and is placed under Akainu, who is at the time a Vice-Admiral. Many believe that Akainu will become the new Fleet Admiral after Sengoku, though Sengoku hopes Shalzed will be the one to succeed him, and as such places Shalzed under Akainu to try and light a fire under him. The two Marines work together for four years, with Akainu teaching Shalzed about his strict adherence to justice, which Shalzed naively accepts.The two become a power duo, that become the face of the Marines for sometime, and they are used as the poster boys for the Marines to the public. They are even referred to as the "Symbols of Justice", which Shalzed takes much better than Akainu. Despite this, the two accomplish much together and are respected almost universally. However at the Ohara Buster Call, Shalzed sees this act of destruction as evil and attacks Akainu in an attempt to stop him, though it's a wasted effort. Akainu easily defeats his pupil and continues his destruction of the island. At this point Shalzed leaves his unit under Akainu and requests never to be promoted beyond Captain, allowing him to roam the seas freely and do what he believes is right. Sengoku ultimately allows this, though he still hopes he'll one day take a leadership position. As a condition, Shalzed is ordered to retrieve Nico Robin, who had escaped the destruction of Ohara. In order to cover up for Jaguar D. Saul and Kuzan, responsibility was placed on Shalzed for attacking Akainu, which is cast as the reason Nico Robin escaped. Pursuing the Devil Child For three years, Shalzed pursued Nico Robin, often wiping out entire pirate alliances along the way. Shalzed would often take detours to rid an island of aggressive pirates, both as a way of employing his justice, and to keep himself from catching Nico Robin, to whom he feels some sympathy for. However after three years, these feelings began to wear off. Eventually, his pursuit took him to Key City, specifically to the Esposito Farm, where he had been informed Robin was living. By the time Shalzed arrived however, Robin had fled. Looking to follow her before her trail went cold, Shalzed threatened Aldo and Cristina Esposito, (Rusio's mother and father) only for Rusio, barely 12 at the time, to make a deal with the marine. In exchange for letting his family off the hook scot-free, Rusio would assist in finding Robin. Seeing Rusio's genius, Shalzed accepts and takes Rusio on as a chore-boy. After a long night of drinking, Shalzed revealed the true reason's Robin was being pursued to Rusio, who became determined to pardon her. At this, Rusio joined the Marines officially, and went to HQ for training. While there, he learned the secret of the Void Century through codes in official Marine textbooks. Using this knowledge, Rusio blackmails Sengoku into calling off the hunt for Nico Robin (though in order to maintain their reputation, this is not done overtly). As such, Shalzed is sent to track down a criminal named Mason D. Northwest, the user of the Gold Gold Fruit. Becoming a Nightmare In a surprisingly difficult battle, Shalzed takes on Mason D. Northwest, who had a glove with the Force Force Fruit. With these two Devil Fruits, Shalzed had trouble taking Mason down, and in the end, both were heavily injured, with Shalzed barely surviving, and Mason dying moments after the battle ended. Delivering the Gold Gold Fruit to the Marines, he kept the Force Force Fruit for himself, as something of a memento. Mason had received the Epithet Nightmare, and with him defeated, the Gorosei gave Shalzed the Epithet, both as a commemoration of defeating a D, and because he had the potential to be both; a nightmare that strikes fear in the hearts of pirates everywhere, and a nightmare to deal with. This is also a way to save face from the internal conflicts between Akainu and Shalzed, the two Symbols of Justice. Seeing that the Marines need a new representative for the people, Shalzed and Smoker are dubbed "Dual Nightmares", and become some mix of legends and old wives' tales. Neither are happy about this arrangement, with both hating each other. Shalzed was especially peeved because Smoker was only a Lieutenant at the time. The two go their separate ways, and the nickname dies out. Befriending Crocodile After his battle with Mason, Shalzed is publicly flaunted as a symbol of the Marine's might (he decides to treat this as vacation time). Most of the shichibukai are brought along as well, including Crocodile, to whom Shalzed takes an interest, seeing his cool and calm demeanor and hearing the (false) stories of him being the hero of Alabasta. Seeing Crocodile as what he originally viewed his father to be, a hero who fought for the good of his country, and being wise and even tempered (which Shalzed viewed himself as, despite being neither of these), Shalzed approached Crocodile with a hand of friendship. Crocodile accepted, simply to use him as an unknowing mole, monitoring the World Government's knowledge of Baroque Works. Strife with the World's Most Dangerous Woman After Mary Killigrew launches an attack on Sabaody, which results in the death of two Celestial Dragons, Akainu is summoned, but is unable to capture Mary and her crew. The World Government tries to keep this under wraps however, only raising her bounty to 400,000,000 (though this would later be risen as a result of her true actions on the archipelago). Swearing to capture her, he asks for assistance from Shalzed, who begrudgingly accepts. The two track her down. The two are unable to find her for two years (mostly due to them running into various pirate crews, thus further cementing Shalzed's legacy as both a Nightmare and a Symbol of Justice), until they eventually run into her in the New World. Their forces do battle, and they are once more unable to capture her, though they do force her back to Paradise to lick her wounds. Using this as an excuse, the World Government raises Mary's bounty to 600,000,000. Anger Unleashed After another year of fruitless searching, Shalzed returns to his normal routine of wandering the seas. After a year of this, he is called back to Marine HQ only to be informed that Rosinante was killed by Doflamingo. Grieving, he and Sengoku attend his funeral, and Shalzed swears to kill Doflamingo. After three years, he is finally able to make good on his promise, when Doflamingo becomes a shichibukai. Shalzed attacks, but in his anger, he is easily outmaneuvered by the pirate. Unable to control himself, Shalzed is held back by Smoker, further fueling his hatred towards the Marine. While Shalzed is publicly punished (this is used as an excuse for his lack of promotion), his punishment is essentially non-existent, with many marines having lost family members to Doflamingo as well. Outraged, Shalzed develops a deep hatred for most of the Shichibukai, with the exception of Crocodile. Reuniting with Rusio After several years of maintaining the status quo, Rusio leaves his position as Vegapunk's assistant, and rejoins Shalzed as a sort of child unit. Rusio at the time is a Lieutenant Commander. Rusio gives him a developmental Devil Fruit Radar, which he uses to track down more Devil Fruit using pirates. During this time, Momi and Faustus graduated from the Marine Academy, and Momi joins Shalzed under his tutelage, while Faustus joins Rusio and the two units patrol the sea. These three, along with the original Dual Nightmares are given the title of Five Nightmares after Faustus, Momi, and Rusio prove themselves to Sengoku, becoming known as the Second Greatest Military Power, hoping to one day surpass the three Admirals for the title of Strongest Military Force. Abilities and Power Aside from his Haki and Devil Fruit powers, Shalzed has a fair amount of close quarters combat training and defense against weapons training from Sengoku, though his boasts would make him seem much more capable in these areas than he actually is. Despite his lack of skill, he is incredibly strong and durable, able to take kicks from Boa Hancock, without Haki or his Logia Intangibility. Shalzed is surprisingly observant (made more effective by his Kenbunshoku Haki) and he can use it to form strategies (though he rarely needs them because of his Devil Fruit). He's fast enough to react to attacks from Marco, as they've fought evenly multiple times, and described the Pacifistas as obsolete when compared to him. He was able to hold back an enraged Faustus, who casually destroyed most of a town and was able to pummel Crocodile at Marineford with little effort. He continued to beat Crocodile, even when he was attacked by Vista and several other minor pirates, holding off all eight of them successfully. However, after being blindsided by Jozu, he was shown struggling to keep them all at bay. Devil Fruit Strengths: Shalzed is the user of the Susio Susio no Mi, which lets him manipulate Hydrogen, though before Marineford he only used it to manipulate water. When he was a Captain, he would hunt down pirates and subdue them with his water. He can hold multiple people hostage at once and can manipulate any body parts to his will. After learning he can control all forms of hydrogen, Shalzed utilizes his power to fly and use ranged attacks. If he is attacked with something hazardous to water, he can turn into a gaseous form instead. Most normal attacks don't effect him, as is the case with most logia fruits. He is especially skilled at fighting multiple enemies at once, using his water to incapacitate dozens at a time. While not a very skilled fighter, he is surprisingly talented at using his opponents against each other, making him better at fighting two or more opponents, than just one. Weakness: Despite having a Devil Fruit that can control hydrogen, and through that water, Shalzed still cannot swim, or even manipulate any water surrounding him that exceeds around ten gallons. He is immobilized by seastone just like all other Devil Fruits. On top of this, certain elements can harm him, such as lightning, which can evaporate his water (though he can recover over a short period of time). At one point in time, hot enough fire could do the same, such as when Akainu defeated Shalzed after the Ohara massacre, or when Shalzed fought with Marco, but through training he toughened himself to the point where even the hottest flames don't affect his water form. Although Shalzed can use his intangibility to turn into a gaseous form, which can isn't affected by the lightning, when caught off-guard he defaults to water. He is also incredibly arrogant, and rarely uses Busoshoku Haki, which can make him somewhat of a glass cannon against stronger opponents, but only if he isn't serious. He's also not that smart of a fighter, being overconfident and predictable, though he's usually strong enough to get by anyways. Marco even stated that if Shalzed were a more tactical fighter, he'd have been caught by this point. Likewise, Smoker admits that if Shalzed wasn't constantly falling for his seastone jitte attacks, he wouldn't keep winning. Named Techniques: Mizu Mizu Prison: As the name implies, this creates a prison of water, the bars of which function the same as the seastone prison Crocodile trapped Luffy and Smoker in. Even after discovering his fruit was actually controlling hydrogen, he still uses the name Mizu Mizu. Muzi Muzi Pool: '''Shalzed creates a cubed pool of water (it looks similar to how Law holds hearts) which can trap and incapacitate Devil Fruit users, and even non-Devil Fruit users. Even after discovering his fruit was actually controlling hydrogen, he still uses the name Mizu Mizu. '''Muzi Muzi Spear: '''By morphing his arm into a spear of water, Shalzed can pierce enemies from over fifteen feet away with water that he describes as "harder than steel". Even after discovering his fruit was actually controlling hydrogen, he still uses the name Mizu Mizu. '''Susio Susio Soar: By manipulating the surrounding hydrogen, Shalzed allows himself to fly. He isn't very fast and doesn't have great mobility, but he can accurately attack from over 200 feet in the air, so this isn't much of an issue. Haki Busoshoku: In this area, Shalzed is fairly average, and rarely has it active. If he sees a dangerous attack coming that he can't dodge, or is preparing a deadly attack he'll use it, but otherwise he ignores this aspect of Haki. He can use it to boost the power of his attacks, but seeing as his go to method is to drown his opponents, he often doesn't even think of using it. Kenbunshoku: This is easily Shalzed's most dangerous weapon, even more so than his Devil Fruit. The Captain's Kenbunshoku Haki is so potent he can essentially see into the future, though this does have limits, both on how far he can see, and how long he can use it for. When humming or whistling this power is increased further, making him nearly untouchable (assuming his foe isn't vastly faster). Outside of combat, his Kenbushoku Haki still has uses. While humming and touching someone, he can see their past memories, which is how he recognized that he and Vivi were distantly related. If he tries to use this power on someone who is sleeping, he can access their dreams, personality, and desires as well as memories. Haoshoku: Shalzed speculates that he may have Haoshoku Haki, due to his princely status, but to date he has never been able to access it. Trivia Ocean Standard is a reference to the universal language of Basic from Star Wars. There is an easier version called Ocean Basic, which is the equivalent of slang. The city of Niar is an allusion to Iran or Persia, from which much of Niar's culture is drawn. It also refers to the National Institute of Aviation Research, referencing how Shalzed is able to fly. It also closely matches the word liar, to how everyone from Niar keeps their identity a secret. Baku uses Nightingales to deliver letters as they are the national bird of his homeland. Similar to the nightingales' song, Shalzed's observation Haki is made more effective while whistling or humming. Baku is a mythological animal in Japanese mythology that can eat dreams. Subsequently, Shalzed can see a person's dreams with his Haki. Baku also means Wind Beaten City in Persian, a reference to his heritage by means of the language, his power over hydrogen, and foreshadowing the time he took over a city by seizing it from above and bombarding the military shelter with hydrogen blasts. Shidori is a pun on chidori, meaning one-thousand birds, another reference to his flight. He of course just picked it because it sounded cool. Shalzed simply means Prince in Persian, and Safavi is a reference to real life Persian royalty who had the same name. While the given reason that Shalzed, Momi, Rusio, Faustus, and Smoker are called the Five Nightmares is because of their potential to become "a nightmare", it is also a reference to the mythological creature Baku, that can eat dreams. Category:Marine Category:TSTAR Category:Citizen of Niar Category:Devil Fruit Users